Está ruim

You can use this phrase for almost anything. Use it for physical objects like a broken phone or a shirt with a hole. Use it for abstract things like the internet connection or the weather. If you are at a restaurant and the food is salty, lean over to your friend and whisper, está ruim. If you are trying to watch a movie on Netflix and it keeps buffering, you can yell at the TV: a conexão está ruim!. It is incredibly versatile. You just need the subject and then the phrase. O tempo está ruim (The weather is bad). O serviço está ruim (The service is bad). Just don't say it to the chef unless you want some extra "seasoning" in your next dish.

This is a solid, neutral phrase. It is safe for almost any situation. You can use it with your boss to describe a project's progress. You can use it with your grandma to talk about the price of tomatoes. In very formal settings, you might prefer não está bom (it is not good) to sound a bit softer. On the flip side, in super casual settings with friends, you might hear tá ruim. The es- gets dropped because we are lazy when we are hanging out. It doesn't change the meaning, just makes you sound like a local. It’s like saying "'s bad" instead of "it is bad."

Imagine you are at a music festival. The band is late, and it starts raining. You turn to your friend and say, a situação está ruim. They nod because they feel the vibe too. Or think about scrolling through TikTok. You see a filter that makes everyone look like a potato. You might comment, esse filtro está ruim. In the world of online shopping, if you receive a package and the product is scratched, you’d message the seller saying the item está ruim. It is the language of the real world, from the digital space to the street corner. Even your GPS might give you a route that está ruim because of traffic.

Use it whenever you want to express a negative opinion about a current condition. It is perfect for food that isn't tasty. Use it for a movie that is boring you to tears. Use it when your head hurts or you feel a bit sick (though estou mal is also common). It is the best way to give feedback on a service. If the Uber driver is taking a very long route, the situation está ruim. If your favorite team is losing 5-0, the game está ruim. Use it to be relatable. Brazilians love a good, shared complaint—it's how we bond!

Don't use está ruim for a person's character. If someone is a mean person, you say ele é ruim. Using estar would mean they are only bad at this specific moment, which sounds weird. Also, avoid using it for permanent facts. You wouldn't say the desert está ruim because it’s dry; it *is* dry. If you are in a high-stakes job interview, try to be more specific. Instead of saying a previous company estava ruim, explain *why*. Saying something está ruim can sometimes sound a bit vague or lazy if you don't follow up with a reason.

Learners often mix up ser and estar. Remember: é ruim is for something that is always bad. Está ruim is for right now.

Another mistake is using ruim for "evil" in the wrong context. While it can mean evil, in everyday speech, it's usually just about quality. Don't worry, you won't accidentally call your cold soup "satanic."

As mentioned, tá ruim is the most common casual version. If things are really, really bad, we add muito (very) or péssimo (terrible). You might hear está bem ruim which is like saying "it's pretty bad." In some parts of Brazil, people might say está osso. Osso literally means bone, but slang-wise, it means a situation is tough or bad. In Portugal, they tend to use the full está more often than Brazilians do. If you want to sound younger, you might just say tá uó (it's horrible/trashy), but stick to está ruim until you're a slang master.

Is ruim always pronounced the same? Mostly, but some regions stress the 'u' more than others. Can I use it for my health? Yes, estou ruim means you aren't feeling well. Is it okay to say to a waiter? Yes, but be polite! Say desculpe, mas a comida está ruim. It's better than suffering through a bad meal. If I say está ruim about a person, what does it mean? It usually means they are feeling sick or are in a bad mood, not that they are a bad person. Just remember: estar is the key to the present moment.